Philadelphia's Nowak steps out amongst the Twitterati

“Even old dogs can learn new tricks. Looking forward to interacting with the best fans in @MLS. Be gentle on me! #Doop”

This was the surprising opening salvo from one of Twitter’s newest users. Why is it surprising? Because it comes from one of MLS’ toughest, all-business personalities.

Less than a week after the Philadelphia Union grabbed headlines worldwide with the signing of US national team midfielder Freddy Adu, it's the coach making a splash in the online world as Peter Nowak became the first confirmed MLS head coach to join Twitter on Monday. Needless to say, direct access to one of the league’s straightest-shooters was met with “follows.” A lot of “follows.”

In a little more than 24 hours, Nowak has thrown out 58 tweets and nabbed 2,400 followers, a sizable haul for Day 1 in the land of 140-character quips and quotes. And it’s worth noting that, much like in life, Nowak follows no one on Twitter. In his corner of the twittersphere, he is the center of the conversation.

So far he has talked ping pong with Taylor Twellman, given his opinions on how Barcelona will look this season (“will probably play without obvious strikers moving all from midfield like they did last year”) and even translated ubiquitous web-word “LOL” into Polish for a fan.

And how exactly do you say “LOL” in Polish? It’s “SSG” (Smiac Sie Glosno). The old dog just taught you a new trick.